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And thats how you celebrate Black History Month. If you only acquired* this book to check off your Black History Month obligations, I suppose you could stop reading now, but you already have the book. You might as well keep going, because theres a lot more to being black than February.

THIS IS A BOOK

about the ideas of blackness, how those ideas are changing, and how they differ from the popular ideas promoted in mainstream media and often in the black community itself. Youre probably familiar with the popular concept of blackness: hip-hop, crime and prison, fatherless homes, high blood pressure, school dropouts, drugs, athleticism, musical talent, The Wire, af rmative action, poverty, diabetes, the Civil Rights Movement, and, recently, the U.S. presidency. Some of these concepts are stereotypes. Some are true. Most are negative. But in the age of President Barack Obama, all of them are limiting and simply inadequate to the task of capturing the reality of blackness. The ideas of blackness that make it into mainstream thought exclude too much of the full range of who black people are. Whether its musical taste, dancing pro ciency, occupation, or intellectual interest, all nuance is ignored for a simpler, often more sellable blackness. In this book, I will attempt to re-complicate blackness, exposing the challenges, the fun, and the future of being black

* You may notice I often say acquired instead of purchased when referencing your relationship with this book. Im just acknowledging the reality. Illegal Internet le sharing in copyrighted works of literature about the black experience is destroying the publishing industry and demands government action. Please write your member of Congress before its too late.

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in the United States. Its also a convenient way to make you care about my life story. My name is Baratunde Thurston, and Ive been black for over thirty years. I was born in 1977 in Washington, DC, in the wake of civil rights, Black Power, and Sanford & Son. My mother was a problack, pan-African, tofu-eating hippie who had me memorizing the countries of Africa and reading about apartheid before my tenth birthday. My Nigerian name was not handed down to me from any known lineage, but rather claimed and bestowed upon me by parents who demanded a connection, any connection at all, to Mother Africa. Yes, I grew up in the inner city, at 1522 Newton Street, and I survived DCs Drug Wars. Yes, my father was absenthe was shot to death in those same Drug Wars. But its also true that I graduated from Sidwell Friends School, educational home of Chelsea Clinton and the Obama girls, and Harvard University. I love classical music, computers, and camping. Ive gone clubbing with the president of Georgia, the country, twice. My version of being black adheres as much to the stereotypes as it dramatically breaks from them, and thats probably true for most of you reading this, if not about blackness itself then about something else related to your identity. Through my stories, I hope to expose you to another side of the black experience while offering practical comedic advice based on my own painful lessons learned. For example: In How to Be The Black Friend, I shine a light on the type of black person who quietly does as much to promote positive interracial relations as any prominent civil rights activist ever

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could. In my opinion, The Black Friend is a national hero and should be honored for exemplary service. In How to Speak for All Black People, I give you the lowdown on how to break into the exploding world of black punditocracy on cable news. There is always some black-related thing happening somewhere in the world, and journalism cant ll all those television programming hours, so those cameras might as well be pointed at you! How to Be The Black Employee prepares you for life as one of the few minorities in an of ce setting, reminding you that you actually have two jobs: the one on your business card and being black, and offers key dos and donts for the all-important of ce holiday party. Heres a hint: dancing is involved. Other chapters include How to Be The Angry Negro (because sometimes its necessary) and How to Be The (Next) Black Presidentit could be you! But wait, theres more! The idea of a book that claims to cover how to be black is, of course, preposterous, but Im doing it anyway, and Im not alone. Because the topic is so large and because my experiences cant comprehensively represent those of millions of people, I recruited a few other voices to help this book live up to its title. I interviewed friends and colleagues I felt were strong new models of how to be black. These are seven people who do blackness well, and together they form The Black Panel I call upon throughout the book to weigh in on important issues. Cheryl Contee is the cofounder, with me, of the blog Jack & Jill Politics and a partner at Fission Strategy, where she specializes

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in helping nonpro t organizations and foundations use social media to create social good. damali ayo is a conceptual artist, author, and comedian. She created Rent-A-Negro.com in 2003 and is the author of How to Rent a Negro and Obamistan! Land Without Racism. She is also the creator of the participatory performance piece National Day of Panhandling for Reparations. Jacquetta Szathmari is a comedian and writer and creator of the one-woman show Thats Funny. You Didnt Sound Black on the Phone. Shes also a Libertarian. Elon James White is a comedian and creator of the Web video series This Week in Blackness and the Web radio show Blacking It Up. W. Kamau Bell is a comedian and creator of the one-man show The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour. He offers a two-for-one ticket deal to those who bring someone of a different race to the show. Derrick Ashong is a musician, entrepreneur, and television host. He cofounded the band Soulfge and hosts The Stream on Al Jazeera English. He was raised in Ghana, Qatar, Brooklyn, and suburban New Jersey. Christian Lander is the author of Stuff White People Like. He isnt black. I had to include one white person to defend against

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the inevitable lawsuits claiming reverse discrimination, and also to establish a control group. As you can see, this is a rock-star panel. To the members, I posed questions such as When did you rst realize you were black? Hows post-racial America working out? and Can you swim? They have done more than provide color commentary for this book. They have helped me nd the heart of it. In the nal chapter, The Future of Blackness, I combine my own conclusions with those of the people I interviewed and humbly lay out a complete Grand Uni ed Theory of Blackness with a vision for a people and a nation. I did not set out to do this, but it happened, and its kind of awesome. If you are black, many of these stories and lessons and hopes will ring true to you. Maybe you prevented a race riot in your school by employing diplomatic back-channels to ease tensions between black and white students. Maybe you renounced your blackness for a few hours after being told by other black people that the thing you do so well makes you not black. Maybe your coworkers think youve just got to have an opinion on every single move President Barack Obama makes. This book is yours. If youre not black, there is probably even more to be gained from the words that follow. They may help answer the questions youd rather not ask aloud or they may introduce a concept you never considered.* You will get an insider perspective, not only on

* For example, one of the chapters in this book contains a detailed plan for the implementation of White Slavery. Can you nd it?

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how to be black, but also on how to be American, and, most important, how to be yourself. This book is yours as well. Finally, just in case you were wondering, no black people were harmed in the making of this book. Yours in blackness, Baratunde Ra q Thurston @baratunde on Twitter. And the books hashtag is #HowToBeBlack

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